UCLA dunks its way to rout over Chattanooga

The UCLA men’s basketball team continued to steamroll inferior opponents, this time Chattanooga in a 106-65 blowout Sunday at Pauley Pavilion.

Fun was the name of the game as Norman Powell, Zach LaVine and Co. had quite the dunkfest and never lost focus, not even with a gargantuan lead. Powell scored 19 points and most of those with flair, especially with a windmill dunk.

“That’s one of the main dunks I’ve been trying to do all year,” Powell said. “It’s the first windmill I’ve had in college basketball.”

Fans haven’t been treated to these kinds of high-scoring affairs in quite some time. UCLA hadn’t scored more than 100 points since it scored 113 points in a home game against Wyoming on Dec. 23, 2008.

The Bruins had 10 dunks Sunday — making this seem more like a midnight madness festivity than a game — and Powell had five dunks.

UCLA guard Jordan Adams had a team-high 22 points and Kyle Anderson nearly had another triple double — he recorded one Friday — with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The Bruins also had 48 rebounds (including a career-high 14 from Tony Parker) and shot 62.9 percent from the field. Just about everything they did went right.

“We didn’t have to make a lot of adjustments (at the half),” UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “It’s a new deal. It’s a new staff. They’re learning that the emphasis is how you start games and how you start halves. We had a 19-2 run (to start the second half) and did a good job with that.”

The Bruins led 47-25 at halftime, and Powell had four crowd-pleasing dunks within the first five minutes of the second half. Former NFL star Terrell Owens was on hand to watch the fireworks.

UCLA increased its lead to 40 points five minutes into the second half to squelch any ideas the Mocs could make this close.

Powell still was in the game with seven minutes left and had that ridiculously impressive windmill dunk. He took off from just inside the free-throw line and flew through the lane for a one-handed slam.

“I was just glad to see him finally do it,” Adams said.

Bryce Alford scored UCLA’s 100th point on a 3-pointer from the baseline with three minutes left. The Bruins scored a season-high 106 points, which is such a stark departure from former coach Ben Howland and his defensive-minded teams. UCLA beat Cal State San Marcos 109-79 but that was an exhibition game.

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UCLA has started a season 5-0 record for the first time since the 2007-08 season.